Arrow McLaren has announced the departure of Gavin Ward, who served in the role as team principal with the IndyCar team over the last two seasons.
While the announcement came on Tuesday morning, the team shared that Ward's status was effective on Monday, November 18. Per the release, this was a “mutual and strategic decision as the team positions itself for growth and performance” heading into the 2025 season in the IndyCar Series.
“I leave Arrow McLaren after two years developing a people-first culture set to topple the 20-year domination of IndyCar’s championship teams,” Ward said. “We’ve made major strides during my tenure. Our 2024 IndyCar season delivered the team’s most-ever race wins (three), and we came within two turns of victory in the Indianapolis 500. Arrow McLaren is positioned for further success — with a stable driver lineup, significant off-season recruitment and thoughtful organizational changes.
“I wish my former colleagues well and hope our work together leads to more wins on and off the track. I plan to spend some time at home with my wonderful wife and two daughters while I evaluate what’s next in my career.”
Ward first joined Arrow McLaren in June 2022 as the Director of Trackside Engineering and was promoted to the overarching role of Race Director — which eventually morphed in the title Team Principal — ahead of the 2023 season.
The 40-year-old Canadian previously served as race engineer for Josef Newgarden the four previous years at Team Penske. The duo collected 13 wins during their time together, along with hoisting the Astor Challenge Cup in 2019. Before being part of North America’s premier open-wheel championship in 2017, Ward spent 12 years with Red Bull Racing, working up through the ranks with the Formula 1 outfit before earning the role of aerodynamicist for the final three seasons.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown shared his thoughts on parting ways with Ward, with no replacement for the role revealed at this time.
“I want to thank Gavin for the time he gave to our Arrow McLaren team the past two seasons,” Brown said. “We’ve grown significantly from where we were when he joined the team in 2022, and he was a big part of that transformation. We have a strong team in place, having grown this off-season, and we’re fired up heading into 2025 to fight for race wins and championships.”
